Jakobe Sanden was pulled out of class and sent home last Monday simply for wearing a mohawk. But while Sanden and his parents insist the hairstyle was paying homage to his Native heritage (his mother, Teyawwna, is a member of the Kaibab Band of Paiutes Indians, and his father Gary is a member of the Seneca Tribe), the administration deemed it a violation of the school's dress code policy.
Sanden's mother, Teyawwna, was surprised when she received a call from his school, asking her to take him home to get a different haircut. Considering her child had worn a mohawk throughout his life without prior issues, She claims she "wasn't expecting [an issue]." Jakobe's father expressed concern over the controversy telling The Salt Lake Tribune that as a descendant of Native Americans, that wearing a mohawk is part of his son's culture.
But Susan Harrah, principal of Sanden's school, Arrowhead Elementary, claimed that haircut directly conflicted with the school district's dress policy—which states that "students have the responsibility to avoid grooming that causes a distraction or disruption." As Harrah told a Salt Lake City-based Fox affiliate, "We had the students that weren't used to it. They had called that out. So the teacher brought the student to my attention."
Teyawwna Sanden claims that the language in the aforementioned school dress code is too vague, creating an unintentional loophole that allows administrators to make arbitrary decisions on a case-by-case basis.
When Jakobe's parents decided to challenge the decision and appealed to the school's superintendent on the grounds that the hairstyle was an expression of cultural heritage, they were instead asked to obtain a letter from tribal leaders confirming their claim. The Huffington Post points out that this came after the couple offered to prove their Native American backgrounds via their tribal membership cards.
Seneca Nation Councilor William Canella wrote the superintendent on behalf of the Sandens, noting that for Seneca boys, the mohawk hairstyle is a way to show pride in who they are after "years of discrimination and oppression." Following this, Jakobe Sanden was allowed to return to class without a problem. But as the the Sandens see it, the problem is still unresolved.
"I'm sure they didn't intend it to be, but it felt like a form of discrimination. We didn't want to take it there," Teyawwna Sanden told Fox 13. "We provided the papers, but we didn't like it was right to let it go."
As Gary Sanden told The Salt Lake Tribune, "To ostracize him like that—that's stuff from the '50s."
Read more over at The Salt Lake Tribune.
